Hybrid Market Dashboard

January 2009 Dashboard: Hybrid Pickups Arrive

The entire auto market continued to slide, bringing hybrid sales along with it. But there's good news: General Motors began shipping full-hybrid pickup trucks, opening up the hybrid market to a new pool of buyers.

December 2008 Dashboard: The Key Is Production Numbers

There was a dismal drop in hybrid sales in late 2008. As we turn out attention to 2009, the area to watch is not vehicle launches or high-tech concepts: It’s production volumes. Introducing new hybrid and electric vehicle models is fine, but those vehicles will only have a real impact on oil consumption and emissions if they are produced and sold in large volumes. Also, check out our heat map of hybrid sales intensity.

November 2008 Dashboard: Sales Go From Bad to Worse

In November, car sales went from bad to worse as sales volumes fell a bruising 37 percent from a year earlier. Even sales of small, fuel efficient vehicles lagged as tight credit, recession fears, and falling gas prices eroded demand for small cars that had surged just months earlier. Hybrids, which generally have outperformed the overall car market in recent months, fell faster than conventional vehicles in November, posting a 50 percent sales decline from a year earlier.

October 2008 Dashboard: Hybrid Sales Up, Despite Economy

Last month, total sales of cars and trucks fell to 838,592 units, a 32 percent decline from October 2007. With sales hitting levels not seen since the early-1980s recession, the industry is in serious trouble. All three domestic automakers now face potential cash crises in 2009, and even traditionally strong players like Toyota and BMW are reporting staggering drops in sales and profits. Despite the challenging sales environment, hybrid sales were up slightly from September.

September 2008 Dashboard: Recession Catches Up with Hybrids

In September, auto sales continued their grim downward trend. Overall, the car market shrank by 27 percent relative to last year. Hybrids fared better, falling just 9 percent from September 2007 levels, but the message was clear—tight credit, reluctant consumers, and an economy plunging into recession have begun to affect all types of vehicles, hybrids included. Our earlier question if hybrids are “recession proof” is now answered.

August 2008 Dashboard: Undersupply and Discouraged Buyers

The auto market’s gloom continued last month, although August brought slightly higher overall sales than July. In total, 1.25 million cars and trucks left dealerships in August, a 10 percent increase over the previous month but down 15 percent from August 2007.

July 2008 Dashboard: Hybrid Profitability Plaguing Carmakers

In July, US auto sales fell to 1,136,539 units—13 percent below July 2007. Although hybrids fared better than most vehicles, their performance wasn’t stellar. The underlying issue is that hybrids are not big money-makers for most automakers, so there’s little incentive to ramp up production substantially.

June 2008 Dashboard: Automakers See Red

As gasoline prices climbed and economic conditions worsened, those in the market for new vehicles were thinking about fuel efficiency. This should have fueled hybrid sales growth, but instead every hybrid model saw sales declines, due largely to an ill-timed drop in the supply of hybrids.

May 2008 Dashboard: Carmakers Neglect High Hybrid Demand

May hybrid sales were a mystery. Gas prices soared, so you would expect the most fuel-efficient vehicles to be selling at record numbers. Instead, May 2008 hybrid sales fell by nearly 25 percent compared to last year. Didn’t Toyota and the other hybrid makers see that oil broke past $100 per barrel on the first business day of the year?

April 2008 Dashboard: Hybrids Sales Defy Recession

The overall vehicle market went from bad to worse in April. It marked the worst April for car sales since 1995. Yet, brisk hybrid sales showed once again that fuel-efficient gas-electric vehicles are recession-proof. Hybrid sales climbed above 3 percent of the total market for second time ever—the last time was May 2007, also a month when gas prices spiked.

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